Iran launched missiles towards Israel, Israel's military said, and the Pentagon said the US strikes against Iran were named "OPERATION EPIC FURY." 

The renewed confrontation between Iran and its long-time foes threatened to further dim hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear dispute with the West.

In a video message published on social media, Trump cited Washington's decades-long dispute with Iran, including the seizure of the 1979 US embassy in Tehran, when students held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, as well as a range of other attacks the US has blamed on Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution brought the clerics to power.

He urged Iranians to stay sheltered because "bombs will be dropping everywhere". But he also added: "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

President Trump warned that US forces could take casualties in what he called a massive attack on Iran to destroy the country's military and spark a popular revolt against the government.

"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties," Trump said in his video address announcing the start of the bombing campaign.

The US military initiated a series of strikes against targets in Iran, two US officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The scope of the air and sea operations was not immediately clear. The campaign is expected to last for multiple days, said a US official.

Iran was preparing a crushing retaliation, an Iranian official told Reuters.

Trump had built up a vast US military presence in the region to try to force Tehran to make concessions in nuclear talks. He said the US had launched a "massive and ongoing" operation against the Islamic Republic, vowing to ensure Tehran will not obtain a nuclear weapon.

Iran's ballistic missile programme has been a significant sticking point in negotiations. Trump said Iran was developing long-range missiles that threaten the U.S. and threatened to raze its missile industry.

"Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime," Trump said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran "will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands."

"The time has come for all sections of the people in Iran ... to remove the yoke of tyranny from (the regime) and bring a free and peace-loving Iran," Netanyahu said in a statement.

A source told Reuters that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not in Tehran and had been transferred to a secure location.

The attack follows a 12-day air war in June between Israel and Iran and repeated US-Israeli warnings that they would strike again if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

"The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel," Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Israel launched the attack against Muslim-majority Iran during Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting observed from dawn to sunset. The strike also came ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which traditionally commemorates the salvation of Jews from annihilation in ancient Persia and which begins on Monday.

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